"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." [Rom 4:2-3]
When Jesus became “the propitiation…for the sins of the whole world,” [1 Jn 2:2] to whomsoever should believe in and confess His Name, placing their “faith in His blood,” [Rom 3:25] it was not just a momentary thing. Though in His afflictions, which like ours was “but for a moment,” [2 Cor 4:17] and though on the third day His resurrection was instantaneous – for “it was not possible that [Jesus] should be holden of [death]” [Acts 2:24] – yet, the effects are everlasting and shall never fade away. For we read in Isaiah,
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” [Isa 51:6]
Praise God that His salvation, wrought for us in Christ two-thousand years ago, is still current today. Though all those men who harmed our Lord no longer walk to-and-fro upon the earth, and though all those physical witnesses of His blessed resurrection have since fallen asleep and are now ever with The Lord, never to be separated from His presence, yet still today His salvation is present. Still today Jesus is saving souls and presenting Himself to those who trust in His name, revealing to them His glory and showing them the holes in His hands and feet as it were; still today, men and women are led of God’s Spirit to the tomb as those precious women of old, and are likewise encouraged, “come, see the place where the Lord had been lying.” [Mt 28:6] Praise God that even still today, His salvation is fresh and living, for as God said toward Israel, so too He says regarding us, who by God’s great and glorious saving work has made us “an holy nation, [and] a people for His own possession,” [1 Pe 2:9]
“Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” [Jer 31:35-36]
That work that Christ wrought on our behalf and for the glory of God’s Great Name is age-enduring. It shall never cease from its efficacy, nor shall it ever become outdated. My brethren! May this truth be as the “balm in Gilead” upon our souls; may it be fresh water flowing from “the snow of Lebanon” of which we bend our knee and lap; may it be “like the precious ointment upon [our] head;” may it be as the “wine that maketh glad the heart of man” and as “bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.”[Jer 8:22; 18:14, c.f., Jdg 7:5, Psa 133:2; 104:15] If this truth has become dull to you, today may you set out “hot bread” [1 Sam 21:6] as upon the sabbath, for Christ our Sabbath Rest is alive and beckons us again to come to this well and drink to the full, “without money and without price” [Isa 55:1]; yes, He urges us “draw water out of the wells of salvation” “with joy.” [Isa 12:3]
The Lord Jesus is “the author of Eternal Salvation unto all them that obey Him.” [Heb 5:9] Through His own blood He has “obtained eternal redemption for us,” and an “eternal inheritance,” which is “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” [Heb 9:12, 15, 1 Pe 1:4] Through this work of Jesus, we have been given an “everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.” [2 Th 2:16] The word consolation means, “comfort; alleviation of misery, or distress of mind; refreshment of mind or spirits…” [Webster] Today, let us review and remind ourselves of the everlasting salvation of Jesus – of that which produces for us an eternal refreshment and alleviation of mind and spirit, which things are always and immediately available in Christ to those that genuinely approach Him for them.
We now turn our gaze to a familiar truth. A truth which though common to our ears, is eternally significant and glorious; a truth which gives God much honor and fame, and which is forever changing those who lay hold of it in their hearts. Mainly, that this blessed salvation we have spoken of is obtained not of works, but is a free gift of God’s grace. Continuing in Romans from the passage for today, we read,
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, ‘blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.’” [Rom 4:4-8]
If Abraham had been saved of his own accord, of his own works or righteousness, then he would have something to boast of; surely, if that were true, Abraham, like the men and athletes of this world, could boast of his own ability and goodness, that he was good enough to lay hold of salvation and obtain God’s forgiveness as if it were a trophy to be competed for. However, that is certainly not the case. For we read, “his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” [Hab 2:4] And again, “but God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath made us alive together with Christ…for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” [Eph 2:4-5a, 8-9] Surely, we have not one single thing to boast of. We may not boast of our belief or faith, for The Spirit shows us here in Ephesians that too was a gift from God; nor may we boast that we found God, for Jesus says, “no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…” [Jn 6:44a] As Paul said, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” [Gal 6:14a]
This is a most encouraging truth, and, let us be reminded again: an eternal truth. We find much blessedness in this foundational principle of God, for through it we may draw near to Him; through it we may serve Him; and through it we may know Him. Apart from the blood of Christ, by which we are saved and may draw near, we shall be without, as a dog in the streets, waiting not for salvation nor rescue, but for the destroyer to come and smite us as he did many thousands of years ago in Egypt to those who refused to apply the blood of the lamb upon their door. Only through Jesus’ blood, which we may freely receive and believe upon, can we experience God’s salvation; because it is Jesus alone who has “washed us from our sins in His own blood.” [Rev 1:5; 7:14] It is from Him alone that “a fountain [has been] opened…for sin and for uncleanness.” [Zech 13:1] So let us exult in Christ our Victor and King, because He has freely granted us this salvation, and it is fully secured in His work, in His character, and in His righteousness, for He is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” [Jer 23:6]
Praise be to our God who has chosen to bless us with this indescribable gift. The LORD has “delivered [our] soul[s] from the lowest hell” [Psa 86:13] – purely and freely and apart from every work! He has not required of us anything in return except our love and devotion. Our salvation is not contingent upon our merit but Christ’s, for through grace we are saved and not of works. And let us note as well that The Spirit says that if, for the sake of argument, Abraham “were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” Even if we, or Abraham, could somehow manage to be justified by works, we would still have no spot before God to boast, for the work of Christ exceeds every single other work.
As wonderful as this is, there is yet one more aspect we should consider. It is that our salvation is eternal. This free gift from God is unfading and everlasting. And so too is God’s expectation of us – not that we would work and labor to continue being saved, striving to be good enough, but that we would rest in Christ Jesus The Sabbath Rest of God, ceasing from our own works as God did from His on the seventh day. “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” [Heb 4:10] There may be temptation to depart from this truth, to once again attempt to obtain acceptance of God and righteousness through our own works; but let us merrily remember Paul’s words to the Galatians, ceasing from this pursuit and instead resting upon Christ’s bosom,
“This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” [Gal 3:2-3]
It is too glorious a truth for us to neglect or forget: Christ Jesus died for us and has paid our debt. He rose again for us on the third day, and by His blood we are freely and beautifully saved: not for any work of our own, but all because of Him – our salvation is utterly dependent not on us, but on Him, on Jesus’ eternal and flawless merit. And so let us be exhorted and edified through this, because if we have been initially saved by grace, we shall continue to be kept by grace. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” [Jude 1:24-25]
Click here for more posts in Daily Meditations on Jesus’ Glory, Vol II